Irish man jailed in Holland on airport porn charges

A man from Co. Dublin, whose name has not been released, was jailed in Amsterdam on Tuesday after he was caught traveling with hardcore child pornography at a Dutch Airport in January.

Five child porn DVDs were discovered in the man's hand luggage at Amsterdam's's Schiphol Airport when he arrived off a flight from Thailand.

The man, described as a widower, was at Amsterdam's airport awaiting a transfer to Dublin on January 17. He was arrested after he left the baggage hall after missing his onward Aer Lingus connection to Ireland.

The judge at Schiphol East Meer Court decribed the material as "shocking and disgusting."

The man, 68, was sentenced to eight months in Haarlem Jail but was moved to another Dutch prison because inmates threatened to kill him after discovering the reason he was in jail.

He told the court "All my life I was careful I have never done anything wrong before and I am very sorry, I made a very bad mistake."

He also said he was disgusted at the idea of anyone having sexual intercourse with children.

Public Prosecutor in Amsterdam, Marjanne Eising, described the material as "among the most hardcore child pron on the market" which featured shocking images of girls as young as seven years old.

The man, who has no previous convictions in Ireland, admitted to liking pictures of young naked women but said he had no idea the DVDs he purchased in Thailand contained any child pornography.

He said he had bought the DVDs in a bar in Pattaya, Thailand, the night ebefore he left.

He sais the cover of one of the DVDs showed a naked young woman so he agreed to buy them. He admitted to being "a bit tipsy."

The man lives with his daughter and family outside of Dublin and has a part time job delivering medicines.

In a letter to the court, his daughter said the family were in "shock and dismay on learning of her father's arrest." She also said her father had a heart condition.

The court learned that the man has made 10 trips to Thailand since his wife's death 11 years ago.

The mans lawyer said his client made a foolish mistake. He said it was normal for men to go to Thailand "and have a very good holiday enjoying the company of adult women".

Irish police searched the man's home in Dublin for child pornography but found none.